Brahms: Symphony No. 2

Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer

it is even more integrated in thematic structure than the First, and it is that balance between detailed focus and spontaneity that Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra strike so... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2015, ****More…

About

Ivan Fischer’s follow up to his rapturously received recording of Brahms’ Symphony No.1 in 2009 – “monumental in every sense of the word...Outstanding.” as Andrew Clements in The Guardian put it.

“Is this one Brahms’ most nature-related symphony? Considering the complicated organisms being developed from the simplest cells, yes it is. Brahms certainly has the divine, creative talent to show us how this process can work in music” says Iván Fischer, who tops off Brahms ‘Sunny’ second symphony with the Tragic overture - solemn, somber, inevitable fate, - and the Academic overture - sparkling, humurous, extensive instrumentation.

“A remarkable, transparent purity can be heard in Brahms’ second symphony. Giving the first motif to the (natural) horns is a logical choice. Horns can ideally explore the purest of all musical ideas: the journey through the overtones.” Fischer, liner notes

Iván Fischer is founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. This partnership has become one of the greatest success stories in the past 25 years of classical music. Intense international touring and a series of acclaimed recordings for Philips Classics, later for Channel Classics have contributed to Iván Fischer’s reputation as one of the world’s most visionary and successful orchestra leaders.

Reviews

February 2015

it is even more integrated in thematic structure than the First, and it is that balance between detailed focus and spontaneity that Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra strike so convincingly here. Fischer's moderate speeds ensure that his subtle tempo modifications always sound natural.

****

15th December 2014

indeed Fischer and his players seem content to let the untroubled optimism of the symphony shine through...The six-minute scherzo, often likened with some justification to Schubert, is a particular delight...Fischer’s brass are, once again, on top-notch form here – neither too timid nor too ostentatiously forceful.

David Smith

25th January 2015

Who needs another Brahms Second Symphony? Well, after Iván Fischer’s exhilarating Brahms No 1, we can all benefit from the intense freshness and lyricism that his Budapest forces bring to this music, along with their roots in eastern Europe...Fischer is superb at clarifying the textures.